Anxiety's Visions
by LnSoul
Summary: *Chapter 5 is up*. Let it not be said that the Dragon Gods went down without a fight...
1. Anxiety's Visions: Prologue

Disclaimer: Squaresoft's characters, not mine.  
  
  
  
Anxiety's Visions: Prologue  
  
  
  
The salty fragrance of the ocean breeze wafted through the blanketed walls of the shrine. The soft summer sunlight lazily poured through an opening in the ceiling. Her eyes were barely closed; her face tilted upwards toward the sun. Her deep, rhythmic breathing was in sync to the gentle washing of waves on the shore. In quiet meditation she lifted her spiritual essence off of the physical plain.  
  
Her eyes opened suddenly, and widened. In one quick and graceful movement, Steena leapt off of her pedestal, drew her sword, and landed while taking a stance, ready for the danger to come. She did not move for what seemed several millennia. Sweat lined her brow, but her countenance did not waver. Slowly, she withdrew from her position, and retreated to her pedestal.  
  
Quietly, she prayed to the gods that the world might be spared the danger.  
  
At the same time, several hundred yards away in the Guldove bar, a masked man sipped his wine and noticed that the breeze had died.  
  
  
  
Notes: Okay, this is just the beginning. I'm still thinking of ideas on where this story should go, so tell me what you think. 


	2. Anxiety's Visions: Reflection

Disclaimer: Yet again, I don't own the characters, so let's just get on with it.  
  
  
  
Anxiety's Visions: Reflection  
  
  
  
Steena's prayer had almost been as traumatizing as her glimpse at an inevitable evil ravaging the land. To what gods had she prayed? Certainly not to the Dragon Gods, whose underhanded trickery almost led to the destruction of mankind. Certainly not to the Goddess of FATE, who, despite encouraging the growth of the humans, would have it so that life was naught but a twisted puppet show. She often had questioned her role in the destruction of both divine sources. Given the opportunity, would she have refused Serge aid in his quest? Would she choose to be, as she is now, a distraught woman with shaken morals? Or perhaps would she rather retain her holiness while kissing the feet of her destroyers?  
  
Moreover, Steena was worried about Guldove. For decades the small island town had followed the direction of the Direas, had unquestioningly prayed to the Dragon Gods and sought guidance from them. What could she possibly do for them, if she couldn't do anything for herself?  
  
Dismissing these bothersome thoughts, Steena focused on the matter at hand. She packed some belongings to prepare her for her trip. Whatever the darkness was, she was almost certain it had came from where the Terra Tower had been. If she was going to prevent the evil, she needed to get there as quickly as possible.  
  
  
  
The masked man watched as the Direa left her shrine. As discretely as a cat on the hunt, he tracked the Direa as she entered the residential tower. Hovering above the tower, he waited for her departure. A witness could only describe him as a mysterious silhouette in the sunset.  
  
Notes: Okay, I've figured up some direction to go in. R&R, please. All reviews and criticisms are accepted and appreciated. 


	3. Anxiety's Visions: Storm Warning

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.  
  
Anxiety's Visions: Storm Warning ..............................  
  
Indignant eyes growled silently at the tawny boy.  
  
"Korcha.it's for Guldove!"  
  
"WhaCHA talkin' 'bout, Steena?! Ain't nothin' wrong with Guldove."  
  
"Korcha, don't you trust me on this? Evil is close.I can feel it. As a Direa, don't you think I would know something like this? Besides.what's the harm in me borrowing your boat?"  
  
"Psh! Evil! FATE's gone! The dragons are gone! The Devourer's gone! We even drove out the Porre military! Guldove, in both worlds, is completely fine! And as fer you bein' a Direa, I haven't seen whaCHA done for Guldove at all! And donCHA even get me started on."  
  
"KORCHA!!!!!!!"  
  
Enter Macha.  
  
"DonCHA talk to the Direa like that!"  
  
Macha's aggravated demeanor quickly vanished as she turned to Steena.  
  
"DonCHA listen to the boy. Of course ya can take the boat."  
  
"BUT MA!!!"  
  
"Korcha! DonCHA make me start on you!"  
  
"."  
  
"I greatly thank you, Macha" said a smiling Steena. ............................  
  
The dubious figure levitated across the tides in pursuit of a boat. The sea stirred in fear of the oncoming storm. 


	4. Anxiety's Visions: Confrontation

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.  
  
Anxiety's Visions: Confrontation ............................  
  
The choppy waters of the sea batted the hapless boat and its mistress. With each inch the boat proceeded, she became more certain of her premonition. With each yard the boat traveled, the sea became angrier at the trespasser. With each breath she took, her mind ached with fear. There was no turning back. There was no alternative.  
  
Without so much as the meekest noise, the sky exploded with a burst of light. As the light receded, Steena became aware of a shadow in front of her. The shadow became a form, became a being, became a man. Steena's mind reeled as she remembered to breathe.  
  
"Guile?!"  
  
With a look of genuine, aching sadness, Guile whispered, "I'm.sorry."  
  
Within a split-second, Guile's countenance changed to that of indifference.  
  
"NOW, I MUST KILL YOU, DRAGON SOUL!!!!!"  
  
"GUILE.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 


	5. Anxiety's Visions: Stop

A thousand apologies to my very few onlookers. I'm going to start writing this story again, after months of hiatus.  
  
Adelaine: I appreciate your criticisms and agree that the chapters aren't exactly coherent or transitional with each other. I felt that the chapters I provided were points in the story that were needed and necessary for development of the character and plot, and that providing the story in between these chapters would take away from the main objective of the story.   
  
Oh, and I'll try to work on the length of the chapters. =)  
  
Anxiety's Visions: Stop  
  
With the flick of his wand came another flash of light. As Steena recuperated from the last luminous attack, she no longer felt the anger of the sea. The menace of the storm did not advance nor did it recede. The world itself no longer seemed to breathe. The frozen time made the world heavy and encumbered.  
  
Steena turned and faced the new nemesis.  
  
"Make no mistake. If you are this new threat I sensed, I have no reservations of destroying you."  
  
At that, a wall of flames erupted from Steena's palms. The inferno encased Guile within its treacherous borders and burned Guile. Steena stood at the head of the boat in anticipation of retaliation.  
  
Staggering out from the flames, Guile launched an assault from his wand, demolishing Korcha's boat. The frozen time proved of some benefit, as Steena did not fall through the water's surface. Steena realized the properties of Guile's spell must surpass simply freezing time, and the prospect of plummeting into the depths of the waters at Guile's will terrified her.  
  
"You are the threat Steena. The Dragon Soul must be stopped at all costs."  
  
Even as he said this, Steena found that Guile was not angry at her. The slight softening of Guile's demeanor betrayed this.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
For a moment, Guile looked into Steena's eyes and recalled the alliance they once shared. He stared at her; her face was firm but her eyes were screaming. Her chest was heaving, and her skin glowed from the sheen of her sweat. The frigid air tugged at his burns, leading him to sit on the water. He waited there, exhausted from the use of such heavy magic. He knew that she deserved to know what had been born inside her body. Solemnly, he began:  
  
"Ages ago, the Dragon Gods preconceived their own demise from the prosperity of mankind. Enraged at their own helplessness, the Dragon Gods merged their powers and created two items that could alter their fate."  
  
Steena stood entranced and forgot the immediate peril she was in. Despite the rancor between them only minutes ago, Steena became drawn to Guile and did not doubt any of his words.  
  
"You know one of these items: the Dragon Tear. You know that the Dragon Tear has the ability to switch entities from body to body. What you don't know is that it also posses the ability to merge entities into one body. The Dragon Gods planned on merging into one supreme Dragon God when they came close to demise. However, Lynx stole the Dragon Tear and eventually Serge destroyed it. This still leaves one item. The other item the Dragon Gods created was the Dragon Soul. With the remainder of their powers, the Dragon Gods created a crystal that enclosed and sealed an empty dimension. The Dragon Gods infused the majority of their essences within this empty dimension, knowing that in this dimension the essences of the dragons would grow into the supreme Dragon God. With the majority of the dragon essences gone in our dimension, we easily defeated the Dragon Gods when we confronted them. However, we did not take into account the power of the Dragon Soul. The power of the Dragon Soul is the ability to replace an entity from within the crystal with the entity that bears the Dragon Soul. The Dragon Gods desired the Dragon Soul to be a last resort knowing that the Dragon Tear could potentially fail. Therefore, they embedded the Dragon Soul within the first Direa of Guldove. After every Direa passes away, the ghost of the old Direa inhabits the new Direa, bringing along with it the Dragon Soul. It is said that when the Dragon Gods are destroyed, the Dragon Soul will activate within the current Direa. She will journey to the Terra Tower, where the powers of the Dragon Soul will be fully realized, and unleash the evil from the crystal upon mankind."  
  
Steena was lifeless. She could not bring herself to doubt Guile, but she could not accept what he had said. Brimming with confusion, despair, and self-hatred, her body replied the only way it knew how to.  
  
The sea welcomes tears from the weeping.  
  
Notes: Sorry that the paragraph on the Dragon Soul was so awkward. I wanted to express my ideas about the Dragon Soul, but it came out very sloppy.  
  
Tell me what you think about it. 


End file.
